The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-09
A HUNTER OF SLAVES.
Zebhr Pasha, Whose Armies Devasted
tho Souden.
From, the Philadelphia Times.

tar has played an important part IN
African politics during the last five and
twenty years. When Gordon went to the
Soudan in 1874 as Governor General. he
found Zebhr living in royal state in Darfu'
and devastating with his slave hunting
armies the whole of the Equatorial prov
inces. After several severe fights, in which
Zebhr showed generalship of no mean Or
der Gordon defeated and made him pris-
oner and sent him in chains to Cairo. There
he lived for eight years prisoner on pa
role until his intrigues on behalf of the
Mahdi rendered it necessary for the British
Government to arrest and deport him. The
Hrst time met Zebhr was in October, 1852,
when Cairo was occupied by British troops,
and the newly-captured Arab was a pris-
oner in the citadel. Zebhr had taken no
open part in Arabs revolt, but had stayed
on in Cairo waiting, no doubt, to see what
turn events might take.
His palace was always the resort of any
Soudanese notables whom business or pleas
llre brought to Cairo. Here in the evening
one met envoys from Dongola, Darfur and
the most distant provinces of the Nile. end
here it was that first heard Of the revolt
,1nder the Mahdi, which two years later cost
England SO much blood and treasure, and
Egypt the larger portion of her territory
Zebbr himself is very striking looking
man, about feet 10 inches in height, but
looking taller owing to his splendily pro-
portioned frame. He is very dark; in fact,
YOU would hardly take him for an Egyptian,
were it not for his finely-chiseled features,
which have all the characteristics of the
Nubians about them. He is about so years
of age, but looks younger. He dresses like
a sheik of the desert, and wears a bright
colored silk turban on his head.
On the first occasion of my visiting him
we had long conversation about the Sou
dan and the slave trade, the latter a sore
subject with him, as he considers that Cor
don maligned him with regard to his asso-
citation with it,
1.-THE slave trade he said, "can never be
put a stop to as long as the religion of Ma
homed endures. Eastern life necessitates
the employment of slaves, and no lot is
happier than that of the slave of good
master"
| explained to him that domestic slavery
was not what Christians especially objected
to, though they disapproved of that, but
the cruel traffic in human flesh, whereby
people were torn from their homes, separat-
ed from their lSith and kin and sent into ex
lie in a foreign land. He tried hard to deny
that this traffic existed, but when I told him
of the number of slaves captured yearly by
our men-of-war on the African coast, he at
tempted to argue that they were merely
prisoners of war, and that it would have
been impossible to leave them in the dis
tricts where they had been taken prisoners,
and that it was for their own best interests
to send them to new countries. At the
same time he emphatically denied that
he had ever made war simply to capture
slaves.
''It is the nature of the wild tribes of the
Soudan," he said, ito keep a perpetual
state of inter-tribal warfare, and only when
my people were attacked did make re-
prisals.n
Just then bright-looking boy handed me
some coffee and Zebhr said:
''You see that boy. He is from Shillook,
the only human being saved from a village
burnt by my men in revenge for attacks
made on my boats going up the Nile. Ask
him if he is happy Why, if he were a
chief among his wretched people he would
Dot be so well cared for as he is now"
1t was evident that we should never be
able to agree ON the slave question, so l
turned the conversation to sport, on which
Zebhr is a great authority Most, if not
all, of the big game of Africa have fallen
10 his rifle, and he told me some wonderful
yarns of his adventures with lions and ele-
bhants. He told me that his favorite
method of hunting the latter was on horse
back and armed only with a sword. His
plan was to ride up alongside the elephant,
md. rapidly dismounting, hamstring him
with blow from the sword, and when the
huge beast was thus put hOrs du combat he
was dispatched with spears. 1t is necessary
10 have several mounted men, one of whom
attracts the attention of the elephant while
he others creep up and hamstring him.
This method Of hunting was reported on
by Sir Samuel Baker as common among the
Hamram Arabs; but Zebhr is the only
Arab have met who has told me he has
practiced it. He spoke in glowing terms of
The abundance of animal life to be found in
he more distant parts of Darfur, which,
rom his account, must be a very paradise
bor sportsmen But he added:
1.-The Soudan will soon be the scene of
more stirring events than hunting wild
beastsn
And then he went on to talk of the
nahdi. AS had heard but little then OF
Mohammed Achmet / was much interest
ID in what he told me, which was to the eff
ect that the tribes were fast rallying round
him and that ere many moons were past the
Soudan would be lost to Egypt
There is no one man between the Bahr-
A-Gazell and Dongola who can rally the
people to the standard in support of the
Khedve,n he said There was once a
Sultan in Darfur, but he is there no more"
This last was delicate allusion to him
elf.
very VlVlQly Ulu UulS cOnVeIsdudOH COHue
back to my memory when being in Gibral-
ar last year found myself once more in
he presence of Zebhr Pasha Hearing that
he was a prisoner on the Rock, applied to
he Governor for a permit to visit him.
Which was readily granted. Armed with
his one morning presented myself at the
Iate leading to the ex-slave kings quarters.
\ small house on the southeast corner of the
Rock had been assigned to him and found
ilm sitting on a divan in the veranda.
poking out over the blue waters of the
Mediterranean. He had changed a good
Zeal in the four years that had elapsed since
last saw him and it was evident that the
life of forced inactivity was telling heavily
N him. We had long talk on Soudanese
tfairs, of which he took a most pessimistic
lew.
There is no hope for my poor country"
lie said You have destroyed, but have
milt nothing in the place of what you have
Werthrown, nor do you know how to build.
my time" he continued, merchants
ould pass to and fro in peace, and do their
business Every year the riches OF the
.sor were being more abundantly
sought within the reach of the merchants
" Khartoum. And this state Of prosperity
tvuld have gone on had not been driven
rom my country. Gordon was good man,
hough he wronged me deeply, and l am
Dry ne is dead. He knew afterwards that
ny policy was the right one for the country,
nd asked me to go back as Sultan OF OAR
nr, but England would not let me- Now